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Date -
11/08/05 |
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| Readers' score - None |
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| Tom and Will went and saw three nihilistically-monickered (but really rather cheerful) punk rock bands. Then they did some other things for a bit. Then they wrote about it in turn, in order of who's best looking. |
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Tonight, Tribute to Nothing stand out for three reasons. The first is that they sound nothing like the other two bands on the bill – their alt-metal/emo/hardcore mashup sound contrasts sharply with the following acts' straight-up melodic punk.
The second reason is that they are the best band of the night in almost every way. Musically, TTN are a tight, amazingly energetic juggernaut of a rock and roll beast. Their sound, recently beefed up by the addition of a second guitarist, is big, crunchy and unique, if a little more melodic than in previous years.
The third reason is that, in spite of all this, the assembled crowd are largely apathetic (save perhaps the three brothers’ mum, who certainly can rock out for an older lady). One day someone will teach all these punk kids that music doesn’t have to be played at 300bpm to be enjoyed.
So, on to the punk section of the evening. Before Useless ID take the stage, Tom tells me they are Swedish (we later discover they are Israeli – which I think is a first for me), and he also predicts they will be boring. Five minutes in, and I can’t help but agree – this is punk at its most formulaic. I get slightly less bored towards the end of the set, but that may well be because they are about to finish.
(Will : Attractiveness = 10 girlfriends)
No Use For A Name have found the perfect primer in Useless ID’s cheerfully derivative punk-pop ("this is our Green Day song… this is our Alkaline Trio song… this is our Millencolin song… THESE are our No Use For A Name songs!") Like all bands of their ilk, they have one properly decent song, which they finish with. Fans of Useless ID will doubtless know it, the rest of us surely never will.
It is also unlikely that NUFAN will ever rise higher than their current station. This is a little bit of a shame, because beneath their formulaic skate-punk sound they have always had a naturalistic and gifted songwriter in frontman Tony Sly, as songs like ‘Coming Too Close’, ‘Soulmate’, and ‘On The Outside’ demonstrate. Earnest and reflective, they gently tug on the heartstrings – and Sly’s onstage demeanour fits their character perfectly. He strains and ploughs through the melodic power-punk with exactly the right amount of workmanlike determination, never resorting to clichéd poses or punk-rock mugging (something that guitarist Dave Nassie overdoes to the point of extreme irritation). Basically, he treats the songs with the respect they deserve.
How much you can enjoy NUFAN live depends heavily on how well you know the material. They’ve got countless great songs, but if you’re not familiar with them they quickly blend together. Seeing as I knew about half of the set, I didn’t do too badly.
But I’ve got to agree with Will, Tribute to Nothing were by far the band of the night. They may have been going for the best part of ten years, but they still have the rabid hunger of a brand new band, and the new tracks they unveiled tonight sounded quite simply fucking awesome. This was the first time I'd come across them, but I'll be looking out for them from now on.
(Tom : Attractiveness = 3 girlfriends) |
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| Tom Pegg |
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